Zille und ick

Zille and Me

Episodes from the life of Berlin milieu painter Heinrich Zille are the subject of one of the few DEFA musicals. Zille is in his mid-forties when he loses his job at the Photographische Gesellschaft, where he had worked for nearly 30 years. Although he always wanted to concentrate full-time on painting, the layoff throws him off balance. All of a sudden out of money, he wants to declare his solidarity with the poor people of his quarter but they don′t really trust Zille, who is always watching them with his pad and pencil at hand. But little by little, Zille′s neighbours realize that he only wants to document their lives, and they start to sympathize with him. Zille starts a special friendship with the backyard singer Jette. She wants to leave the poor milieu and starts out with honky-tonk entertainment. Eventually, she is seduced by the son of a factory owner who walks out on her. But there is still Ede, who is renting a sleeping place in her parents′ flat. Ede has always been in love with her, and in the end, Jette realizes that he is the right one for her.

The contents of this entry were funded with the support of the DEFA-Stiftung.